glas (Proto-West Germanic)

Where does "glas" come from?

The Proto-West Germanic noun 'glas', meaning 'glass' or 'amber'[1], descends directly from the Proto-Germanic form '*glasą'[1]. This Germanic term is traditionally derived by Pokorny from an s-extension of the Proto-Indo-European roots '*gʰel-' and '*ǵʰel-', which mean 'to shine, shimmer, or glow'[2]. Alternatively, scholar Kroonen prefers to derive the term from an s-stem of '*glōaną', meaning 'to glow', which is likely ultimately connected to the same shining root family[2].

Open questions

• The ultimate origin of the Proto-Germanic term is disputed between derivation from an s-extension of the Proto-Indo-European root for shining or from an s-stem of the Germanic verb for glowing. [2]

Full etymology tree

• *glas (Proto-West Germanic), 'glass, amber'
  • inherited *glasą (Proto-Germanic), 'amber, glass'
    • derived *gʰel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to call'

Ancestors

• *glasą (Proto-Germanic)

Descendants and derived words

• glæs (Old English)
• glas (Old Saxon)
• *glasīn (Proto-West Germanic)

Sources

1. glas (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
2. glasą (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris